Mayor Craig Cates on Tuesday commended four Key West teachers for their work inspiring their students. Penny Maun is a teacher with Montessori Charter School, Cory Oliver is a teacher with Key West Collegiate Academy, Allison Heinz is a teacher Gerald Adams Elementary School and Miguel Perez, a teacher with Montessori Children’s School of Key West.

Their students recently participated in a recycled art contest sponsored by Waste Management and the City of Key West. Maun’s student Kara Nelson won the contest for the 9-year old age category. Oliver’s student Shalhevet Sanchez won the contest for the 14-year old age category. Heniz’s student Julia Nurkiewicz won the contest for the 10-year old age category. Perez’s student Samara MacDonald won the contest for the 6-year old age category.

The teachers’ “continued support in the classroom motivates the students to be involved and participate in afterschool projects like the City of Key West Recycled Art Contest,” the Mayor said in the commendation. “The environment in Key West is very important to our way of life and so are the arts, which is one of the reasons this art contest is so good for students. It makes them look at their resources and how they can be repurposed.”

“What is particularly inspiring about the level of service provided all teachers,” the Mayor said in the commendation, “is that there are no additional financial rewards involved for the work they do. No compensation for all the extra hours they invest in the children of the Keys.”

Waste Management’s Greg Sullivan presented each of the teachers with a $100 gift, which he noted, would likely flow right back into the classroom.